Engine for '69 Lotus Europa?

[Steve Carlton]

What's the chance of making it electric?

[zelrik911]

Originally Posted by BK911

Oh wow, thanks for all the input guys.
Performance is definitely not the goal.
Just a nice driver to throw around some mountain roads to and from work.
Resale is not really an issue either because I doubt I will sell the car.
And yup, I wanted the auto tranny because I am lazy!!
A nice FI engine with CVT would be pretty cool, IMO.
If I were to stick with a manual tranny, I would just go back to original engine and tranny. Which I am kinda leaning towards.
Just curious if I could spend about the same money as a stock rebuild and get a nice FI engine with a 4/5/6 spd auto.
I could pick up an old-ish Passat for a coupe grand and pick all the pieces I need, then scrap/sell the rest and not feel too bad $ wise.
I have a couple on months before I need to do anything, just starting some preliminary research.

And yes, I saw the Lotus forums. Most conversions are the ford zetec or the toyota ??, both of which use the stock tranny. I am trying to think outside the box!

I like the idea of picking the tranny then seeing what engine mates to it. After all, that is really the deciding factor.

Found a pic of a 95 subaru 2wd auto trans for ya.
Looks like it would fit just fine



This was out of an Impreza, & he only wanted $60 for it.

Best idea, of course, is to keep it original.
Drop a set of Renault pistons & liners in the motor & throw in new bearings, everything is real cheap compared with P car prices and simple to do.
Here is a guy in Greece has new sets for less than $400.

Renault R16 TL TS 1565cc Lotus Europa 77mm Pistons Liners Chemises NEW | eBay

[diverdan]

How about an old Saab 900 ? Actually the electric conversion sounds great if you don't want to shift.

[zelrik911]

Zetec SE which is the all alloy version used in Focus/Fiesta/Puma in 1.25, 1.4, 1.6 & 1.7VVT. Weighs about 80kg

Think there is a thread on theSAMBA about some specialist making up a Zetec to Subaru bell housing.

[Embraer]

rebuild the original motor. I guarantee you will spend way, way more trying to do a conversion. finding something to fit in there is 10% of the battle. the rest is the annoying stuff.

[Jim Bremner]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx62obeje0o

Problem solved. That will be $100 for me.

[bill romero]

turbo ROTARY for sure!!

[maxnine11]

I'm thinking that if you were going to run the car in this configuration, you would want Front Wheel Drive. No?

[BK911]

Originally Posted by Embraer

rebuild the original motor. I guarantee you will spend way, way more trying to do a conversion. finding something to fit in there is 10% of the battle. the rest is the annoying stuff.

Yea, that's kinda where I am heading.
Just wanted to do a little research before going that direction.
The purist in me will be happy.
Appreciate all the input guys!

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by gfhfth

Building molecues or building cars... you do get more of first in every batch. A mole of porsches anyone?

I think we know who the mole is here. Nice spelling of molecule there, Avogadro...

[tadd]

Nice catch Steve! That has been up for years . Im gonna claim auto correct bit me!

That silver car was bad A$$!!! Just goes to show, add enough motor and tire and anything becomes a go kart...

[beepbeep]

As diverdan said, SAAB og900 might be a good solution. Engine is mounted on the top of transmission, so it's rather compact. As engine tilts 45 degrees, it is not too tall either, so it might fit height-wise as well.


Best of all, it delivers 200+ hp with minimal upgrade and is dirt-cheap.